Punk rockers perform anti-Putin protestsMOSCOW (AP) — Three feminist punk rockers in Russia may face years in prison for barging into Moscow’s main cathedral to sing a song against Vladimir Putin as he set out to reclaim the presidency. Wearing ski masks and miniskirts in garish colors, the Pussy Riot band members danced and high-kicked while belting out this refrain: Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away. Put Putin away, put Putin away. The case has caused international outrag...

Olympic finale: Phelps helps US win medley relayLONDON (AP) — Five things to know about Saturday, Day 8 of the London Olympics: • One last splash: Phelps grabs 22nd medal with U.S. medley relay win. • Britannia you rock! An Olympic day to remember for the hosts. • Pistorius makes 400 semis in Olympic debut. • LeBron and Co. pushed in U.S. hoops win over Lithuania. • Serena Williams gets a Golden Slam, beats Sharapova in tennis final. When it was over, Michael Phelps hugged his teammates, th...

Tropical Storm Ernesto heads toward JamaicaKINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Tropical Storm Ernesto became less organized as it moved over open waters in the Caribbean late Saturday and wasn’t expected to gain strength as it headed for a pass south of Jamaica on Sunday. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Ernesto still could grow into a hurricane as it swirled along a course forecast to take it over the coastal resorts of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula by Wednesday. With forecasters predicting ...

Gunmen kidnap Iranians just outside Syrian capitalBEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen snatched 47 Iranian pilgrims just outside Damascus on Saturday in a brazen attack that revealed the growing instability at the center of President Bashar Assad’s power. The abduction came as Syrian troops moved to crush one of the last rebel-dominated neighborhoods in the capital, shelling the area heavily. No group immediately claimed responsibility, although Iranian state media blamed the rebels fighting the Assad regime...

Afghan parliament votes to oust key ministersKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan parliament voted Saturday to dismiss the country’s defense and interior ministers, a move that threatens to throw the country’s security apparatus into confusion as foreign forces withdraw. The vote demanded the dismissal of two of President Hamid Karzai’s key security lieutenants: Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, one of the top Afghan officials most trusted by Washington, and Interior Minister Bismulla...

Truman grandson visits Hiroshima A-bomb memorialTOKYO (AP) — A grandson of ex-U.S. President Harry Truman, who ordered the atomic bombings of Japan during World War II, is in Hiroshima to attend a memorial service for the victims. Clifton Truman Daniel visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Saturday and laid a wreath for the 140,000 people killed by the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing authorized by his grandfather. Another atomic blast in Nagasaki three days later killed 70,000 more. “I think t...

Clinton warns Kenya on repeat of 2007 vote chaosNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Looking ahead to Kenya’s national vote in March, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday warned leaders and citizens in the East African nation not to repeat the deadly violence that plunged the country into chaos after disputed presidential elections five years ago. Clinton said Kenya had the potential to be prove its democratic maturity and be an international model for free, fair and transparent elec...

Phelps wins last individual Olympic swimming raceLONDON (AP) — Five things to know about Friday, Day 7 of the London Olympics: • Threepeat achieved: Phelps wins last individual race at Olympics. • Saudi woman’s judo appearance hailed as victory for women in ultraconservative kingdom. • Track and field gets under way with fans filling up stadium. • Federer, Serena reach Olympic tennis finals. • One U.S. boxer still fighting after overturned result. Michael Phelps’ last individual race at the ...

India left in dark by utilities losing $10 billion a yearMUMBAI, India (AP) — A decade ago, Chandrakant’s fishing village in India’s financial capital Mumbai lived mostly by candlelight. What people did not have — electricity — they stole. It was easy enough to hook onto the two thin power lines that passed over the village and take a little for themselves. Today, his settlement has moved up the feeding chain of Mumbai neighborhoods and most residents have city electricity meters. But the loose habi...

Syrian regime pleads with Russia for economic aidBEIRUT (AP) — Syria reached out to its powerful ally Russia on Friday, as senior officials pleaded with Moscow for financial loans and supplies of oil products — an indication that international sanctions are squeezing President Bashar Assad’s regime. The signs of desperation came as resilient rebels fought regime forces in the Syrian capital only two weeks after the government crushed a revolt there. The renewed battles in Damascus show that ...

Parents found guilty of murdering daughter in UKLONDON (AP) — The girl was murdered by her Pakistani parents for her Western ways. And it was her little sister who bravely told jurors how her mother and father suffocated the 17-year-old with a plastic bag — gripping testimony that led to her parents’ murder conviction on Friday. Justice Roderick Evans sentenced Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana Ahmed, 49, to life in prison for killing their daughter, Shafilea, in 2003. The couple — first cousins fr...

UN General Assembly denounces Syrian crackdownUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly denounced Syria’s crackdown on dissent Friday in a symbolic effort meant to push the deadlocked Security Council and the world at large into action on stopping the country’s civil war. Before the vote, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reminded the Assembly of the fresh violence in the city of Aleppo and drew comparisons between the failure to act in Syria with the international commun...

Decline of entrepreneurship blamed for Japan woesTOKYO (AP) — Worn out and resigned to its dwindling status, Japan Inc. is said to be quietly shuffling off the world stage. But don’t tell that to Kenji Hasegawa, who is ready to conquer the global auto market with his nifty innovation, a bolt that doesn’t need a nut. Or Chiaki Hayashi, who makes millions teaching big-name companies to be creative again. As different as they seem — Hasegawa runs auto-parts supplier Lock’n Bolt Corp. and Hayash...

Douglas wins all-around title, giving her 2nd goldLONDON (AP) — Just 14, Gabby Douglas pleaded with her mother to let her move cross country, certain a new coach could help her get to the Olympics. Not two years after setting out on her own, Douglas beat Russia’s Viktoria Komova for the all-around title Thursday night, becoming the third straight U.S. athlete to win gymnastics’ biggest prize and the first African-American to do so. It was her second gold medal of the London Games, coming two ...

Argentina celebrates bond payoff as end of an eraBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Bond payoffs are supposed to be boring, but Argentina’s president is celebrating Friday’s final $2.3 billion payment on a bond given to people whose savings were confiscated a decade ago, calling it a lesson for European countries now mired in foreign debt. The nation’s economic disaster left thousands with a grim choice after the government seized their dollar-denominated deposits to stop bank runs in 2002. They...

Annan quits as Syrian envoy, blames lack of unityBEIRUT (AP) — Kofi Annan announced his resignation Thursday as peace envoy to Syria and issued a blistering critique of world powers, bringing to a dramatic end a frustrating six-month effort that failed to achieve even a temporary cease-fire as the country plunged into civil war. Annan also had harsh words for the Syrian regime, saying it was clear President Bashar Assad “must leave office.” As the violence escalated on the ground, rebels use...

Phelps back on top, beats Lochte in 200 IMLONDON (AP) — Michael Phelps spent the day thinking about all the things he’s doing for the final time at the pool. It turns out that included one last win over Ryan Lochte. Phelps finally has a gold all his own at his final Olympics. Adding to an already unprecedented medal collection, he claimed his first individual victory of the London Games and handed Lochte a double disappointment on his rival’s final night in the pool Thursday. Phelps s...

New Egypt government puts Brotherhood in key postsCAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Islamist president swore in his first new government Thursday, led by a devout Muslim and including five members of his Muslim Brotherhood in unglamorous but ideal ministries for a group whose long-term aim is to Islamize the most populous Arab nation. The Cabinet is a far cry from the inclusive administration that President Mohammed Morsi has repeatedly promised. No other political factions came on board to join. Women an...

Somali comedian who dared mock militants is killedMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — On one of his recent radio shows, a popular Somali comedian ridiculed commanders of a ruthless Islamist insurgent group that is notorious for forcibly recruiting boys into its ranks and making them fight. “Hey young boys, you can’t move back from the enemy shelling ... instead just stay there and fight,” the comedian said, taking the role of an al-Shabab commander speaking by phone to his youthful troops from an ocean...

French town famed for extreme sports bans wingsuitsPARIS (AP) — The French town of Chamonix, deep in the shadow of Mont Blanc, has always embraced danger. Climbers scale Europe’s highest peak in dire conditions. Backcountry skiers risk avalanches or falling off cliffs. But the arrival this summer of the wingsuit flyers offered peril on an entirely new scale. For nearly two months, daredevils in skin-tight suits with batwing sleeves and a flap between their legs hurled themselves off the Breven...